The Risk That Never Was

After all that, I was never the risk you would be willing to take. The memories, the joy, and all the things we went through together—were they ever truly worth it? Or was I just blinded by the what-ifs of us, unable to see the bigger picture that lay ahead? 

As in those moments, I clung to the fragments of laughter and shared dreams, convincing myself they painted a future worth fighting for. But looking back now, I realize how fragile it all was, built on illusions rather than solid ground.

Mayhaps if you had told me sooner; if you had just been man enough to voice what you actually felt, maybe then I wouldn’t feel like a total loser whose heart got broken again for a love that was never reciprocated in the way I wished as I replay those unspoken words in my mind, wondering how different things might have been with a single honest conversation. 

Instead, the silence stretched on, leaving me to piece together the truth from half-hearted gestures and fading echoes as the bitter lesson brings a sour taste in my heart; teaching me to protect my heart and build the walls I used to have, surround my heart once more; even as the ache reminds me of what could have been.